abigail burch (Abby Burch) says that she's always loved photography and loves taking pictures of things, places and people she finds interesting with her still relatively new Canon Rebel Xsi .

You can (and should) check this photo of the Muskegon beach out bigger and have a look at her sets including favorites, nature, city, artprize and cottage (slideshow).

Take a dip in her Flickriver.

167|365 ride the wind by nicole st. john

The Huron Daily Tribune noted last week in Final report: Wind potential high that the final report issued Thursday by the Michigan Wind Energy Resource Zone Board (view PDF) identified key regions for wind energy generation and a potential annual energy output of an eye-popping 17,720,522 megawatts! The report found that major region in Michigan for wind power generation is:

... the Thumb Region — which includes Huron County and portions of Bay, Saginaw, Sanilac, and Tuscola counties — has the potential of having a minimum of 1,578 and maximum of 2,824 turbines. The wind board derived this figure with the assumption there were no turbines placed within the boundaries of the villages and cities, as well as three townships.

In addition to the Thumb Region (Region 4), other areas included as having the highest level of wind energy harvest potential in the wind board’s final report include portions of Allegan County (Region 1), portions of Antrim and Charlevoix counties (Region 2), and portions of Benzie, Leelanau and Manistee counties (Region 3).

Yesterday, in GVSU Lake Michigan wind energy test project gets $1.4 million federal grant, the Grand Haven Tribune reported that:

Grand Valley State University's efforts to launch a wind turbine testing project on Lake Michigan will receive a $1.4 million federal grant.

The school's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC), based in Muskegon, is planning to put a turbine on a floating platform to test how it works on the Great Lakes. Researchers hope to have the platform installed by fall 2010.

MAREC notes that the wind potential of Lake Michigan is in the range of 4 to 6 wind class with 7 being the highest possible. A tenth of the wind power potential of Lake Michigan alone is equivalent to some 20 nuclear power plants and when you look at that and at the state's overall potential for wind power, it seems to make a ton of sense for Michigan to support wind energy development as aggressively as we once pushed the auto industry.

Speaking of industry & wind, check out this video of Dr. Soji Adelaja from the Michigan Land Policy Institute (the organization that produced the map to the right) talking about wind energy generation at industrial brownfield sites:

See absolutemichigan.com/wind for much more about wind power, windmills and wind energy generation in Michigan.

We're bumping the normal Absolute Michigan Photo Friday to link you in to our Rothbury 2009 coverage.

Stay tuned!

Tough Decisions by Ross Sandelius

Billboard Magazine reports that last year's four-day Rothbury Festival ranked No. 8 on their 2008 top-grossing festivals tally, pulling in $7.4 million and drawing 120,820 music fans. Unsurprisingly, they're doing it all over again this summer July 2-5, 2009:

The Dead, Bob Dylan, The String Cheese Incident, Willie Nelson & Family, and The Black Crowes are among the top acts set for the second annual Rothbury, a weekend-long festival produced by Madison House Presents and AEG Live. The event will be held July 2-5 at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, about three hours northwest of Detroit.

...Other artists confirmed to appear include Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas, STS9 (2 shows: full band/Live PA Set), G. Love & Special Sauce, Gov't Mule, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Guster, Les Claypool, Chromeo, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady. Ani DiFranco, MSTRKRFT, Femi Kuti and King Sunny Ade.

In addition to the music, Rothbury organizers are emphasizing the sustainability initiatives that aim to produce a near zero-waste event. They are also once again organizing the Rothbury Think Tank, with educational sessions and community discussion groups focused on the topic of the "New Green Economy."

Tickets go on sale at noon this Friday (March 20) and there's even some layaway options and lots of packages right here. Absolute Michigan will have lots more coverage of Michigan's largest music festival in the weeks and months to come!

For now, here's more Rothbury posts from Absolute Michigan and here's a great collection of 2008 Rothbury Festival pictures (including some great panoramas) over at Michigan in Pictures.

Here's a link to part two of the program. More about the Luge run at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex from Michigan in Pictures and also visit their web site.

Thistle Stop by photoshoparama

The 24th annual Silver Bells in the City takes place this Friday (Nov 21) in downtown Lansing. The event features a parade of lights, the lighting of Michigan's Christmas tree and (weather permitting) a fireworks show. It's also free and attracted more than 120,000 people last year! Click that link to learn more and see a cool video from 2007.

Yesterday we got our first snowstorm of the season, with up to a foot of snow falling in parts of the state. The Muskegon Chronicle breaks it down for west Michigan and shows a video of snow (in case you forgot what it looks like). Up in the UP, there's no need for that as they received a bunch overnight:

"Here at the office we had just about 6 inches," said Mike Dutter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Negaunee Township. "We certainly had reports out towards Trenary of 19 inches since 10 p.m. last night."

Of course, they race outhouses in Trenary so you never know whether to believe them or not.

Snow Bound by siskokid

That chill wind we feel in Michigan isn't just from Mother Nature. The possible collapse of the Big Three and the US auto industry has been howling like a blizzard for the last week. Over on Michigan in Pictures we have a post that seeks to gather interesting articles and opinions on just what should be done regarding the collosal mess that is the US automotive industry. One of the links that we found is a web site that was created by GM called GM Facts & Fiction. It has a lot of information about the economic impact of the auto industry and we've included a video from the site below.

One person who spends a great deal of time on this is Michigan's Governor. In Economy Is Only Issue for Michigan Governor, the New York Times takes an in-depth look at Gov. Granholm, her job and her detractors - worth a read indeed.

One thing's for sure - winter is on the way. You can warm up (cool off?) with the Snow slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.

From a young age, Jourden-Mark and her sister, Lisa (Jourden) Arnouts, worked on the family business. “For my parents, it was cheaper and they’d bring in more money if they built a game for me to run. It was definitely cheaper than hiring a babysitter!” Jourden-Mark joked. At the age of about six, the sisters were in charge of selling ice cream cones filled with deer food to customers for a quarter. “We’d argue over who would collect the money and who got to hand over the cones,” Jourden-Mark said. “So my dad separated us and built the Duck Pond for me to operate. I got to work at the duck pond on my own after that.”

In 1988, the Jourdens changed the name to Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park. During the 1990s four roller coasters and the first water rides were added.

Michigan’s Adventure experienced slow, steady growth. Each year extra revenue was invested into one or two new rides or attractions. To get ideas for additions, the family vacationed at other amusement parks and attended trade shows. “My oldest son had as much input as anyone in the family-Zach’s Zoomers Roller Coaster was named after him!” said Jourden-Mark.

Just like their mother, Jourden-Mark’s three children are growing up at Michigan’s Adventure. She had a nursery off the side of her office and remembers often pushing a stroller through the park while working.

The acquisition by Cedar Fair in 2001 brought more money for growth and
expansion. Today, there are other water parks in Michigan, but Michigan’s Adventure is unique-with more than fifty rides and attractions. It offers the only three wooden roller coasters, and new
for 2008 is the Thunderhawk, Michigan’s only suspended roller coaster.

Jourden-Mark, now the vice president/general manager, oversees the park’s entire operation. She regularly tours the park, often taking her children, Zach, Alex and Katelyn with her. “You do a much better job when you experience the park as our guests do,” says Jourden-Mark.

Even though her parents no longer own the park, Michigan’s Adventure is still a family business to Jourden-Mark. Her husband, Steve Mark, is vice president of maintenance, construction and landscaping. Zach, now fifteen, will be working some of the games this summer. Her entire family also enjoys spending free time riding the rides. Jourden-Mark’s favorite? “Shivering Timbers.”

For more great stories like this one check out Michigan History magazine. For information call (800) 366-3703 or visit www.michiganhistorymagazine.com.

Photos courtesy of Michigan's Adventure

Jacqui Balogh is an intern with Motion Marketing & Media who just graduated Michigan State in May. She hoped that one last time before she "had to become a real person and get a real job" she would get a chance to kick it out, have some fun and maybe make herself a more complete candidate for that real job. Add to that the fact that her college graduate-level email writing skills were quite persuasive and we hope understand why our random and arbitrary criteria led us to pick Jacqui!

Rob Forever - Pillar of Autumn
by Aaron Fortin

For the entire month of July, Absolute Michigan will be focusing of Michigan festivals celebrating music, art, food and the other things that make Michigan fun.

To kick it off, we're having a spur of the moment Rothbury Ticket Giveaway courtesy of the folks at GM Next Plug In! To enter, just send an email to absolutemichigan@gmail.com with the subject Why I Wanna Go to Rothbury. We'll pick a winner of two tickets based on our own random and arbitrary criteria and post it tomorrow afternoon! (scroll down for the details)

More about Rothbury

The inaugural Rothbury Music Festival takes place July 3-6, 2008 in Rothbury, Michigan (near Muskegon). Four days of music on six stages feature some of the biggest musical acts around including Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, 311, Phil Lesh, Trey Anastasio (also at the fest will be Jon Fishman & Mike Gordon of Phish), Primus, Snoop Dogg, Michael Franti, Gov't Mule, The Black Keys, Mickey Hart and about a jillion others!

The festival also features "Circus & Theater" with all kinds of crazy shows, fairs and other experiences, and the Rothbury Think Tank that will be focused on finding energy independence and feature:

...a mix of provocative keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings, and audience Q&A sessions throughout the festival site to offer insight into these and other questions. Interactive participation, both face-to-face and through the use of multi-media technology enable the ROTHBURY community to engage with the Think Tank at multiple levels.

GM Next Plug In

GMnext Plug In is a celebration of the 100+ year relationship between cars and music. From AM to FM, 8-track to cassette, compact disc to mp3, music is almost always a part of the driving experience. It's part of GMnext, GM’s centennial program that includes a series of Web-based activities aimed at engaging a new generation with behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the people of GM and the future of transportation ... and also through some of the biggest music events of the year that will feature some of the hottest bands and artists.

If you aren't selected in the giveaway and can't make it, tune into the GMNext YouTube channel for interviews of bands backstage at the Rothbury by Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass. Here's Kyle, Flyin:

The Details

• Please don't enter if you can't go - two tickets will be in YOUR name at Will Call and you will have to show ID!
• You must be 18 years old or older. Sorry.
• By entering, you agree to hold Absolute Michigan and GM Next harmless for anything that might happen to you in the course of your festival experience. Except of course fun. You can totally hold us responsible for that!

In his book, Negro Folktales in Michigan, Richard Dorson tells the tale of the African-American "hoodoo" man who was asked by a Muskegon family to help catch the thief who had raided their woodpile the previous night, and then had the nerve to relieve his bowels copiously on the same spot. The hoodoo man, or person with supernatural gifts, stuck a long nail into the pile left by the thief, then drove the fouled nail into a nearby tree. He told the family that the man's intestines would remain inactive as long as the nail stayed put.

Sure enough, after several days had passed, word came that there was a man at the local hospital who was severely "backed up." The family, relenting, resolved to pull out the nail. But during that time, the tree had been felled by the local conservation department due to diseased bark. With no way to remove the nail, the bowel-bedeviled wood-napper was doomed to a painful death. It seems that sometimes things just don't come out in the end.

The book also details the legendary method of becoming a hoodoo. The instructions were to "throw nine grains of corn in the creek before sunrise; then go back the ninth morning and wish your soul was as far in hell as the water was that hit the grains of corn." This wish, the man was assured, would bring the devil to welcome his newest apprentice and commence the hoodoo lessons, including "how to make poison, and how to make people crazy."

Linda S. Godfrey, author of that amazing compendium of the unexplained Weird Michigan. The last Wednesday of every month is a "Weird Wednesday" on Absolute Michigan, so be sure to stay tuned and send us or Linda your Michigan weirdness.

Family Trips by brandonjb

Michigan's Adventure, the state's largest amusement park was originally founded as the 'Deer Park', a petting zoo in 1956. It eventually was renamed 'Deer Park Funland' and then in 1988 after a coaster, the 'Wolverine Wildcat' was added, it obtain it's current moniker of 'Michigan's Adventure'. The park was bought by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. (Cedar Point plus 11 other parks) in 2001 and has become a major Michigan attraction.

Michigan's Adventure is the only surviving thrill park in the state of Michigan boasting over 30 rides with more to come. In fact 2008 will see the addition of Michigan's first and only suspended coaster 'Thunderhawk'. Riders sit suspended below the track ski-lift style and start with an 86 foot drop before racing at up to 50 mph through over 2,000 feet of twists and turns, including 5 inversions.

Water Park
In 1991 WildWater Adventure opened after absorbing the nearby Pleasure Island water park. Soon after, advertising boasted "2 parks for the price of 1" as a single admission price got you into both parks making a great day better, especially on those really hot summer days. Currently the water park has over 23 attractions and slides with more to be added in 2008 and beyond.

Additional Info
Here is a break down of rides at both parks that offers great information as to the degree of 'thrill' and height requirements that must be met in order to ride. You may want to check out the following tips to help you plan your day before heading over to Michigan's Adventure.

You can get a look at the park through these YouTube videos or check out this slideshow via the Michigan's Adventure pool at flickr.com.

How to Get There

View Larger Map

You can get a higher quality version from the official web site Asparagus: Stalking the American Life (where you can also buy the DVD which supports family farmers) and also at Media That Matters, where you can also read an explanation of this interesting project from director/poducers Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare, who write:

Three years ago, we set out to make a film about the self-proclaimed Asparagus Capital of the Nation, the tiny rural community in western Michigan where Kirsten grew up in the 1970s and 80s. As the daughter of an asparagus farmer, Kirsten spent her childhood working on the farm and was a proud member of the pre-teen asparagus dance troupe The Oceana Stalkers. There was no question that asparagus was huge in Oceana County. Hailed as Green Gold, it was exactly what this poor rural community needed - a spring cash crop at the end of a long cold winter.

Asparagus was king in Oceana County ... until the War on Drugs eliminated import tariffs on South American asparagus and kicked the bottom out of the market. This film is the story of the reaction of folks in Oceana County and one look at how broad US policies can have devastating and unintended impacts.

The annual National Asparagus Festival will be held June 13-15, 2008. In addition to a showing of the film at on Friday, June 13 at 7 PM at the Hart Middle School Auditorium, events include the Joan Glover Royale Parade (Saturday, 2 PM in Hart), an Asparagus Food Show and an Asparagus Fly-In Pancake Breakfast at the Oceana County Airport.

Photo courtesy Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board. Hungry? Dig into Absolute Michigan keyword Asparagus!

Robyn Porteen is a Grand Rapids based photographer. In addition to very cool manipulated photos like her Carnivale and Surreal collections she has some sets of photos of Grand Rapids and the natural world.

You can see more of her work at her Porteen Studio web site.

Be sure to look at it bigger.

Tate says that he's pretty much an outdoor nut and from summer sun to ice and eagles to foxes from Muskegon to the UP, he delivers gorgeous photos that reveal Michigan's beauty.

(he also has photos for sale at his online gallery)

Great Lakes Town Hall turns two

In December 2005, an online social network called the Great Lakes Town Hall was formed with idea of uniting communities throughout the Great Lakes region. Every week, the site features an expert writing essays in their Opinion Forum about some aspect of life in the Great Lakes basin. Two years and 1,400 original essays later, they're hoping you'll take some time to share your thoughts on the site's future. And yes, my friend Dick Huey is there this week with some interesting observations about real estate.

Wake up and smell the future

In Pointing at Vesuvius, The Center for Michigan's John Bebow looks at last week's visit by U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker as part of the Fiscal Wake Up Tour. The central argument is that the rapidly rising costs of Medicare, Social Security and long-term obligations like the interest on the national debt "will create a tsunami if we don't do something about it." Numbers like $50 trillion can seem abstract but the $440,000 for every household in the United States. MSU economist Charles Ballard brought it home for the crowd by noting that "Michigan's policies have been distressingly consistent with the short-sighted policies at the federal level."

KAP Muskegon State Park by snapshot720

In case you're wondering, "KAP" stands for "Kite Aerial Photography" and this photo is a great example of why you might send your camera up into the sky. It shows the WWII era USS Silversides SS-236 and the prohibition era USCGC McLane in their berths at the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum in Muskegon. He notes that the Silversides is 312' long but only 27' wide. This is one of a set of photos he took from Muskegon State Park.

MiLife, MiTimes, MiUltimateguidetonewmedia, MiBraindrain?

It's the season of giving and the folks at MiLife MiTimes have created The Ultimate Guide to New Media in Michigan in appreciation of all the young, creative, innovative, outgoing and optimistic folks in Michigan. They list a lot of favorites and some I hadn't see like the Detroit Fashion Pages. Somehow Absolute Michigan made their list too - must have been a typo on age verification form. Also don't miss publisher Eric Cedo's dismantling of the Michigan "brain drain" myth.

Muskegon, Michigan

Wikipedia's entry for Muskegon says that settlement of the city began in earnest in 1837 and that during the lumbering era, Muskegon was known as "Lumber Queen of the World" and boasted more millionaires than any other town in America. The city's population as of 2000 was 40,105. Absolute Michigan keyword Muskegon would like you to know about the Inside Muskegon Podcast (who has today posted podcast #100), the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Muskegon County Convention & Visitor's Bureau.

otisourcat writes:

My grandfather was friends with Captain Payea of the Langell Boys. Here she is frozen in the ice on Saginaw Bay. The photos show the efforts to free her from the ice.

He has this photo scanned in really big so you can zoom up close and maybe set it as your wallpaper. He has more photos of the Langell Boys, and also a whole lot of old photos of his family and even more old photos he's collected. Meanwhile, back in the modern day, he's taking pictures of boats and offering up interesting looks at the Here & Now of snowmobile graveyards, giant grasshoppers and other things you might not see every day.

michigan irish festival by Evography

The annual Michigan Irish Music Festival takes place this Friday through Sunday (Sept 14-16) at Heritage Landing in Muskegon. It features an outstanding line-up of music on 3 stages, an Irish Pub, the Irish Market & food vendors, cultural activities, a dance stage for demonstrations & lessons and an Acoustic Tent where patrons can jam with musicians. A stellar lineup of performers includes include favorites Scythian, Seamus Kennedy, Switchback, Craic Wisely, Kennedy's Kitchen, Blackthorn and The Muskegon Police Pipe & Drum band. New to the festival include headliners The David Munnelly Band, Grada, Old Blind Dogs, and the Elders.

The Michigan Feis (Irish step-dancing competition) is an affiliated event that takes place at Muskegon's LC Walker Arena on Saturday (Sep 15). The Feis will feature a variety of Irish Dancers competing at various levels from Beginners to Open, Pre-lim and Championship levels.

Check the web site above for all the details and visit Absolute Michigan keyword Muskegon for more Muskegon area links!

Regarding the building, the Clay Avenue Cellars web site says:

Clay Avenue Station is a rescued historic building in the City of Muskegon, Michigan. Formerly known as the Freres Gas Station, it was built in 1928 and was situated on the corner of Laketon and Henry Avenues. The roads were gravel when the station was constructed. The building itself was slated for demolition to make way for new commercial development. It was rescued and moved to its new location in the fall of 2004 in historic downtown Muskegon.